BROOKSVILLE- There was one Hernando County team that ran the table through the 2020 regular season and that was the Nature Coast Sharks.
At 7-0 before the playoffs kicked off, Nature Coast looked like they were destined for a deep playoff run as they had a strong senior class to lead them. Unfortunately though, the Sharks ran into a buzz saw in Orlando Bishop Moore and lost to the Hornets 45-28.
This spring for the Sharks will be all about trying to identify who can be the team’s new top playmakers, as running backs Anthony Trepen, Kinyatah Morgan and all-everything Dedric Hall are all graduating this spring. Losing a talented senior class hurts, but Nature Coast is looking to reload.
“Losing this senior class will hurt, however we have some very young players who have a chance to be very good and have shown great leadership beyond their years this off-season,” Nature Coast coach Cory Johns said. “Ethan (Fahey) will have an even bigger role in our offense this spring and fall. Last year we did not ask him to run the ball very much which he is more than capable of doing. This season we will ask more of that from him.”
Quarterback Ethan Fahey will be a major piece returning to the offense for the spring, as the signal caller threw for 1,140 yards and 15 touchdowns last fall. With so many pieces on offense now graduating, Fahey will have to take on an increased role of throwing the ball. Johns has already identified two players that should be taking on increased roles. “Khari Bowdy and Temori Windom-Hill. Khari is a rising senior and Temori is a rising sophomore. Both possess the ability to be great in that position. Looking forward to big things from them both,” Johns said. “Offensively, we will use this spring to find out who we are on offense. Find out who needs the ball and how much. It is always about who I need to get the ball to rather than how. We are further ahead on defense than offense. More returners, less to teach. We should be fast, aggressive and smart on defense this season.”
The return of spring football for high school teams throughout the state of Florida has been a sigh of relief in getting back to some sense of normalcy. With just like any teams throughout the country, Johns is grateful the Sharks are back on the practice field this spring. “We are very thankful to be able to have a spring this season,” Johns added. “Really makes you look at things from a different perspective when you do not have a normal occurrence of events for a year.”
Andy Villamarzo can be reached at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @avillamarzo.
